Thursday, March 31, 2011

Don't go off the VERY deep end... Infinity pool 55 STOREYS above ground opens in Singapore in dazzling new 4bn resort

If you fancy a dip in this pool, you'll need a head for heights - it's 55 storeys up

But swimming to the edge won't be quite as risky as it looks. While the water in the infinity pool seems to end in a sheer drop, it actually spills into a catchment area where it is pumped back into the main pool. At three times the length of an Olympic pool and 650ft up, it is the largest outdoor pool in the world at that height.
It features in the impressive, boat-shaped 'SkyPark' perched atop the three towers that make up the world's most expensive hotel, the 4billion Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore
Don't look down: A guest swims in the infinity pool of the Skypark that tops the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers - 55 storeys over the city of Singapore yesterday 

To infinity... and beyond! The pool stretches 150 metres, three times the length of an Olympic swimming pool
 

The view over the side: An artist's impression shows the Skypark that tops the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers, including the infinity pool
 
The hotel, which has 2,560 rooms costing from 350 a night, was officially opened yesterday with a concert by Diana Ross.
 
The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi , estimated to have cost 2billion when it opened in 2004, was previously the world's most expensive hotel.
 
But with its indoor canal, opulent art, casino, outdoor plaza, convention centre, theatre, crystal pavilion and museum shaped like a lotus flower, the Marina Bay Sands has taken its crown.
 

The infinity pool on the roof is in the 'SkyPark' which spans the three towers of the hotel. The platform itself is longer than the Eiffel tower laid down and is one of the largest of its kind in the world. 
Infinity pools give the effect that the water extends to the horizon. In reality, the water spills over the edge into a catchment below, and is then pumped back into the pool. The pools have two circulation systems. The first functions like that of a regular pool, filtering and heating the water in the main pool. The second filters the water in the catch basin and returns it to the upper pool.
 

The resort from across the bay. The three towers were based on a deck of cards, according to designer Moshe Safdie
 

A skydiver parachutes pass the Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands casino resort as part of the venue's opening celebrations yesterday
 

Extreme: Left, relay teams scale one of the towers in a race commemorating the opening yesterday. Right, a newly-wed couple enjoy a canal ride inside the resort's shopping centre
 
The Marina Sands resort was designed by architect Moshe Safdie who based it on a deck of cards.
 
Inside shoppers can ride along an indoor canal in Sampan boats styled on traditional Chinese vessels from the 17th century.
 
The owners have also commissioned five well-known artists to create works of art to 'integrate' with the buildings. Among these is a 40m-long Antony Gormley sculpture made from 16,100 steel rods. The whole thing weighs 14.8 tons and it took 60 people to assemble it in the hotel.
 
Artist Chongbin Zheng created Rising Forest which is 83 three metre high pots with trees in them. The pots were so big the artist had to build a customised kiln the size of a small building to make them in.
 
Last night, the world's most expensive hotel was given a launch party befitting it. Singing legend Diana Ross performed for 2,500 VIPs in the resort's Grand Ballroom and pop singer Kelly Rowland headlined an outdoor concert.
 
casionart
Money-maker: Left, the entrance to the casino, which costs nearly 50 to get in and is attracting 25,000 visitors each day. Right, a man looks through a steel web art structure in one of the towers
 

Just enjoying the sun: Models pose in the pool for journalists at the grand opening yesterday
 
The opening celebrations also featured a death-defying relay. Seven teams of three participants each scaled the three towers before sprinting across the 340-metre long Sands SkyPark, where the infinity pool is located, to the finish line. 
The resort will employ 10,000 people directly and generate up to 48m each year. Entrance to the casino alone is nearly 50 a day - but an average of 25,000 people have visited the casino daily since its initial phased opening two months ago. 
Thomas Arasi, president and chief executive officer of the resort, said he expects to attract an astonishing 70,000 visitors a day once it is fully open.
 
It was due to open in 2009, but was delayed thanks to labour and material shortages, and funding problems due to the global financial crisis.

THE BRISBANE EYE



Wheel of Brisbane


Wheel of Brisbane 
To celebrate the 20 year anniversary of World Expo '88, Brisbane's South Bank Parklands will become home to its own Ferris wheel.
 Fully owned and operated by World Tourist Attractions Australia, the Wheel of Brisbane stands 60 metres tall (somewhat shorter than London Eye's 135 metres) but impressive nonetheless, illuminating the South Bank skyline and river with thousands of LED lights at night and presenting an exciting new landmark for visitors and locals.
photo: Brisbane fairy wheel
photo: Wheel
 The wheel has 42 air-conditioned, fully enclosed capsules each capable of seating up to 6 adults and 2 children. 
photo: South Bank Ferris Wheel
Each ride is of 12 to 15 minutes duration (which roughly equates to 3 or 4 wheel rotations) and offers unique panoramic 360 degree views of the river and city.

photo: Water & Wheel
photo: A ride to the top
 Brisbane hasn't reinvented the wheel, we've simply borrowed the popular idea of a giant ferris wheel from which to view our city. Other 'wheels' are tourist attractions in London, Manchester and Perth and give riders a safe but spectacular way to get a true birds' eye view. 
photo: The Brisbane Wheel














Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Bluewater Classic


The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Referred to as the 'Bluewater Classic'  is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in SydneyAustralia onBoxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km). The race is run in co-operation with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.

The longest surviving skipper from the inaugural race, Peter Luke, who contributed to the formation of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and the establishment of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.


Bass Strait, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean immediately to its east, are renowned for their high winds and difficult seas. Even though the race is held in the Australian summer, "southerly buster" storms often make the Sydney-Hobart race cold, bumpy, and very challenging for the crew. It is typical for a considerable number of yachts to retire, often at Eden on the New South Wales south coast, the last sheltered harbour before the Bass Strait crossing.



Women's involvement.....


Women first participated in the race in 1946. The first woman to take part was Jane Tate, whose boat Active was the only one to reach Hobart in 1946. Dagmar O'Brien, with boat Connella, also took part this year but retired from the race before finishing. Thus, the Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the first female skipper to complete the race.
In total, over a thousand women have taken part in the race.




Tuesday, March 22, 2011

7 dont's after a meal



 


*     Don't eat fruits immediately - Immediately eating fruits
 after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air.
 Therefore take fruit 1-2 hr after meal or 1hr before meal.


*   Don't drink tea - Because tea leaves contain a high

 content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein
 content in the food we consume to be hardened thus 
difficult to digest.           


*     Don't loosen your belt - Loosening the belt after a meal

 will easily cause the intestine to be twisted & blocked.   
             


                                      
*     Don't bathe - Bathing will cause the increase of 

blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amount
 of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. 
 This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.               
                                                                                                                    
*     Don't walk about - People always say that after a meal walk

 a hundred steps and you will live till 99. In actual fact this is not true.
 Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the 
nutrition from the food we intake.                               
                                                                                  
*     Don't sleep immediately - The food we intake will not be able 

to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine.   

SNOW LEOPARD

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Party Cat




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(The snow) leopard is a strong, powerful, fast and beautiful animal. Leopard species 
had been destroyed around here but now they are being regenerated. If the Olympic 
project, at least in some way, should help the local environment, then it 
(picking a leopard) would be symbolic.”

 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin got his wish when a snow leopard, polar bear
 and hare were chosen as the official mascots of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics on Saturday.
Putin, who was largely responsible for Sochi’s successful bid to host the 2014 Games,
 said earlier in the day that a snow leopard would be his “symbolic choice.”
The snow leopard received 28 percent of the votes during a live broadcast on Russia’s main
 Channel One, followed by the polar bear in second place with 18 percent and the hare in third
 (16 percent).
There are three mascots for the Olympic Winter Games, representing the three places on
 the Olympic podium,” Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said in a statement.
“All top-three characters will become the Olympic Winter Games mascots. 
The mascots are the choice of our whole country and will remain in the history of the Olympic movement.”
Television viewers voted for the mascots from a pool of 10 candidates including a Russian bear
 and Grandfather Frost (Russian Santa Claus) by sending text messages or by calling the studio.



Trap camera photo















Photo by Katia Faurie (Large)


Cub Birthday



Saturday, March 19, 2011

Sri Rajamathangi


Raja Mathangi Ambika is the most important Goddess of Shakthi universe. The enclosed article explains the fundamental meaning and activity of Raja Mathangi. Our Divine Mother Parashakthi Karumariamman as the supreme divine consciousness is manifest in the physical realm both universally and within us as Raja Mathangi, Who is considered as a supreme advisor to Raja Rajeshwari.


















The installation of Maha Meru – the 3 dimensional representation of Sri Chakra/Sri Vidhya in our Temple, transforms Parashakthi Karumariamman to Raja Rajeshwari-Lalitha Thirupurasundari.


World Water Day

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World Water Day is observed on March 22 since 1993 when the 
United Nations General Assembly declared March 22 as World Day for Water[
This day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations 
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.
Observance began in 1993 and has grown significantly ever since.
The UN and its member nations devote this day to implementing UN 
recommendations and promoting concrete activities within their countries
 regarding the world's water resources. Each year, one of various UN agencies


involved in water issues takes the lead in promoting and coordinating international 
activities for World Water Day. Since its inception in 2003, UN-Water has been 
responsible for selecting the theme, messages and lead UN agency for the World Day for Water.
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Jenolan Caves:

Take a break from your world and visit the timeless seclusion of Jenolan Caves, where the beauty above and below ground are inspirational.

Underworld Exploration: Being underground draws on senses that you may not have experienced before. Imagine a maze of ancient limestone tunnels, subterranean rivers, and caverns richly draped with exotic mineral deposits. 

Aborigines first named the area Binnomea or Dark Places. By the 1830s European settlers started to explore the caves. Over 40kms of multi-level passageways have now been discovered beneath its mantle of eucalypt forest.

By the 1860s, many other explorers had followed Whalan's lead and found even more caves. Word of their remarkable discoveries spread and the JenolanCaves became a popular tourist destination. 


Unfortunately, some of those first visitors took "souvenirs" home with them and evidence of their destruction can still be seen. Thanks to local Parliamentarian John Lucas, after whom a cave has been named, the practice of breaking off stalagmites and stalagtites was made illegal in 1872. Since then, damage has been minimal.



Over 250,000 visitors come to explore the JenolanCaves each year.

Located between Bathhurst and Katoomba on the far Western edge of the Blue Mountains, JenolanCaves is one of Australia's premier country tourist destinations.






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